Case Explained: MENDEZ-LEMUS V. BLANCHE

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Filed: 2026-07-24 The ninth-circuit granted the petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ dismissal of claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). The court held that the BIA committed legal error by declining to address the petitioner’s involuntary sterilization claim on the basis that she failed to raise her political opinion claim before the Immigration Judge, finding instead that she sufficiently raised the claim by checking the relevant box on her application and testifying about the sterilization. Regarding factual findings, the court determined that substantial evidence did not support the BIA’s conclusions that the Guatemalan government was able or willing to protect the petitioner from persecution, noting that arrests of third parties unrelated to the petitioner and a three-month delay in investigating imminent death threats do not demonstrate government willingness to control persecutors. Similarly, the court found that the police’s delayed investigation did not preclude a finding of acquiescence for CAT relief. The case is remanded to the BIA to consider the political opinion claim in the first instance and to decide any remaining issues regarding asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief. A motion to stay removal was also granted. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.